Merevaika stalked through the undergrowth, weapon pushing through the ferns before her. She had ventured out far enough - it had been early morning when she had left, Syna only just peeking out from behind that large, blue vastness. Now, although she couldn't make out the sky from the roof of greens, every shade of green that she thought possible and more, she knew that the sun was high in the sky, beating down on her strongly. The air had grown even more humid than it possibly could, and the sweat traced off her skin, leaving fresh marks of moisture where each droplet dribbled.

It had started as a hunt, but at this point, Merevaika wasn't exactly certain what she was doing. Sure, she had her bow with her, but the long wooden thing was being used more as any other branch could be, to push the plants out of her path. Her arrows had been long forgotten, somewhere in that quiver hanging on her back, and her focus wasn't on any animal in the nearby surroundings.

Exploring, that was what she was doing. Exploring this expansive mess of wilderness with no purpose in mind, just like she had done like a child running through the Sea of Grass.

The jungle, as she was slowly discovering, was a lot more beautiful than she had expected. She had stumbled past rivers, beautiful rivers that rippled in their silver waters across tiny pebbles, perfectly clear and serene. Flowers, of the brightest colours, of a million colours, that slowly spread their timid petals out towards the light. And there was life, everywhere, bursting under every rock, scuttling through every rotting log, flapping above her in rainbow feathers.

The noise was incredible too. It was the noise of nature, and Merevaika didn't realise how much she had missed the chattering of all the animals, even if they were all different to what she really wanted.

Breaking free of the ferns she had been wading through, she turned, realising that the forest had opened up behind her. She hadn't realised that she had been making an uphill climb all this time. But, now that she could across the trees before her, she realised how high she had climbed. Syka - at least, that tiny golden strip in the distance that had to be sand - was barely recognisable. And the greenery stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see.

Blinking away tears that she hadn't even realised had come, Merevaika turned back to the expanse behind her and broke through the last fern, letting her anger at something power through the way she stamped at every leaf.

A noise rumbled from the jungle before her, and Merevaika froze.

She had been lucky to not have met any wild beast in this expansive place so far. There wasn't a chance that she was going to ruin her exploration by running into something big, with teeth and claws, and cutting both the journey and her life short.

Automatically, she shrunk, ducking behind the mangled mess that she had left of the ferns and shrugged the quiver off her shoulders. It slipped, first with resistance then quickly into her hands, which undid the clasp as soon as they found it. One arrow slithered out and she had it resting against the bow before she had another chance to look up and assess whether what she had heard was predator or prey.

Only once her weapon was securely in her hand, and she was happy with the defences she had prepared did she peep up, feeling the strain in her thighs at the awkward squatting position she had entered.

Beyond her lay more jungle, following the same trend of towering trees, wandering vines and bright splashes as Caiyha decided to place a flower or a bunch of fruit. Everything was perfectly still, with even the trees hesitating in their whispering. The soft murmur of animals from beyond and above had settled, softened even further until it was almost indistinctable.

That silence worried her more than any growl or animal call could ever.

Silence meant danger. Silence meant that it wasn't just her hiding from whatever she had heard. Everything else in the jungle was too. Which meant there really was something to be looking out for.

Keeping her guard up, she sidestepped, deciding to do a swooping search around the area while keeping both her eyes and her arrows trained towards the general area from which she had heard the noise.

It was in that moment she saw it.

That flash of silver was impossible to miss. Amid the green, it stood out like a silver miza in the grass, calling for attention. Her eyes narrowed in, trying to make out what it was, but it was impossible to see properly. Normally, she had trouble through the trees, but this was a whole new experience. This glowed with something mystical that she could make out.

The creature moved, and the realisation that it had been still before only just hit Merevaika. Branches and leaves rustled, but the beast's position was still obvious from its strange colouring. A nocturnal hunter, she assumed, like Night Lions. That silvery sheen that coated its fur was reminiscent of the coal black hide of those deadly lions. During day, they stuck out,yelled to be looked at, but in Leth's silvery light, in the darkness that smothered the forest during night, they would be invisible.

Without thinking, her bow dropped, the arm holding the string relaxing to let it loosen. She crept, cat-like, across the jungle, sticking to shadows and cover. Her arms moved to the cloak she wore, pulling the feathers tighter around her. It couldn't smell her. That gave her courage, knowing that the scent would otherwise reek of her, with the sweat that coated her skin.

Of course that left two more senses, sight and sound, and she was certain that the creature used both easily. At least false courage was better than none.

Once closer in range, she sunk again, letting her knee settle into a bed of leaves. She could see it now, in all its beauty. A cat, so perhaps her comparison to Night Lions had been a good one. But it was a cat that was so different from the large maned, powerful beasts.

This cat was still deadly - she could see that in the way it moved, shoulders rising and falling heavily as it slunk along a fallen tree, keeping close to the bark. But in a completely different way. This wasn't a pack animal, but a lone hunter, like herself. She knew how it operated: stealth, incredible silence that coated its movements, then speed as it leapt.

Every muscle in its body echoed its proficiency at hunting, even underdeveloped as it was. The paws were still big, clumsy looking. The head, wispy ears trailing off, flickering towards her breathing then towards the fluttering of a butterfly, that head was big too, betraying it still had time to grow into that size.

If she knew anything about cats, she'd be able to guess that it was maybe a year old. But she didn't know, so her guess was vague - no longer a cub, but it still had plenty of time to grow.

Slowly, the eyes turned, almost meeting hers. She held that gaze, breath resting deep in her throat as she did. The eyes were white. A haunting, ghostly white, matching the silvery patterns on its back.

They were still moving, like a breeze was brushing against them. But Merevaika knew that even Zulrav was still before this mighty creature. Even that god couldn't breath with the sight of what she saw, the sight of that majestic hunter before them.

Another jumped up from behind, slightly larger but most likely the same age. It moved defensively around its smaller sibling, letting its tail trace against his jaws.

They turned, having either missed Merevaika or decided to leave her alone.

She watched the silver shapes disappear from her sight as her heart longed to see them again, for just a tick.

Her feet were heavy from all the running. It had been a long journey, far too long to run the whole way. But as soon as she had crept away from the spot where she had seen the wild, beautiful big cats, she couldn't help it, feet racing to action as her mind began to churn.

Between footfalls, she alternated between checking for danger, checking her direction and trying to come up with a plan to catch the big cats.

The first she overlooked far too much. A quick glance left and right was the only action she took, despite knowing that there could be so much more there than met the eye. If she stumbled into something, she'd just have to hope that she could get her bow and arrows out quick enough before whatever it was that she stumbled into got out its claws.

The second was a mix of work and sudden realisation. At first, she simply headed towards the general direction that she assumed was towards the ocean. It was stupid way to navigate. Even if she knew where the sea was, even if she could reach it, what then? There were days and days of coastline out there, and she would just as easily hit the golden sands several days away from the settlement as she would reach Syka instead. It only took a few of her large leaps and fast footsteps to realise that she possessed a far more easier method of navigating.

If she could see the paths, she could see the path that lead her there.

Sure, it wasn't the most direct, winding through the jungle with no direct goal in mind, but she knew where it led. Home. There was no doubt about that. And if she retraced her steps, she'd lay another path, making her return even easier.

Her eyes shut, she concentrated on the swirling patterns she could see. Magic flooded to them, almost overpowering with her excitement. They stung, even as she tried to rub that away, but she couldn't let it bother her. Behind her, the trail was firm and bright. Her greens and reds, standing out distinctly over any other trail that might have been there.

With her mind, she almost reached out to grab it, securing her focus.

Then she ran again, following the red and green glowing road with little problem.

Which only left planning. What was there to plan, what did she need to know? There were two animals - she could give their sizes roughly on her body, which meant she could get cages that size. She could report on their theoretical danger. And she knew they'd have to wait until day, because at night, they'd be the invisible predators she knew they were.

She'd need help, that was the first thing. There was no way she could do this alone. Even if she could catch them, the transport would be impossible - it wasn't like she could carry two large cats in cages across bells of rainforest. Preferably someone who could defend themselves and be silent and could come up with good plans. But she knew she couldn't be picky - from that hunt, she had seen just how useless most of Syka actually were. It was better to have some help than none at all.

Which left the actual details of the plan. She had the rough skeleton - get cages, get the cats in the cages - but that was about it. Perhaps, like with the chickens, bait could work? They had only been young, maybe young enough to struggle with the hunt. Who would turn down a fresh piece of meat?

Which meant they needed a fresh piece of meat.

It was complicated, and she didn't really want to think of something. But with something this is risky, this complicated - something that beautiful on the line - she needed one.

Her stomach started to stab her, and she slowed, out of breath. Matching up perfectly with her stopping, the path faded, a large patch of nothingness.

She stumbled around a little, batting at the plants around in a hope to find where the trail picked up. For a while, it seemed like she couldn't see something, then a streak of red flashed in the distance. Red mixed in with the stronger green flashing light.

Her head was hurting.

She stumbled over, checking if there was another trail following it. She wasn't planning on backtracking, and anyway, this part of jungle didn't look like what she had just walked through.

Deciding to pick the trail up from there, she kept moving, walking until her breath had been caught then breaking back into a run.

Through that chaotic method of travelling the mix of running and walking, of keeping an eye out and concentrating on the path she followed and on planning, mixed with the stabs in her stomach and the headache that was shooting through her head, no wonder she was shattered by the time she had reached Syka.

Because she had reached it eventually, even when the paths had gotten patchy.

It was definitely evening now. Syna was up, but that was also partly because it was Summer and she never slept in summer. She had a chance of finding people up, so moved quickly to the common areas of Syka, where people would go in the evening to relax and socialise and whatever else they did - Merevaika didn't ever stop to take a look.

She had caught her breath by the time she had reached the bar area, so her words weren't desperate, but strong, determined, and commanding - at least, as much as she could make them. "I need help. To hunt cats. Dangerous, but beautiful. Will sell - sell for much. I will share money. But I need people, cages, bait. Understand?"

Her hand flickered up to her head, wincing at another strong stab of pain. Then her expression darkened again, showing that she was serious. Seriously interested in doing this.

Once she had a taker, whoever it was, they could start with preparations. "I get cages. You... Meat. And sleeping herbs, if can?" She glanced towards the sky, the orange glow that had brushed against it. The look was cool and calculating, trying to figure out time, how many bells they had left.

"Then we rest. Meet here with all, when Syna is awake." What was the word? "Dawn."

It was too late to set out. And Merevaika needed the rest.

But there was just enough time for them to get ready. Her eyes met the eyes of the taker - takers, if there were several people interested. "All good?"

It was another day the end of another day at Syka and The sunset had been beautiful the sun kissing the waves causing the crest of the waves to glitter for Sara it made her heart ache for the surroundings of her pod. Knowing depression would descend on her if she didn’t do something Sara headed for the Tidepool Bar.

The Tidepool Bar had become her home away from home because despite Being run by a priest of the god Sivah the atmosphere of his restaurant was very similar to that of her pod. There was always something going on – Singing and dancing, storytelling and gambling were just the obvious. Tonight was busy and Sara had settled herself down in a corner near a talkative old man in hopes of hearing a good story. Sara had actually planned on talking to the man tonight instead of eavesdropping like she usually did when the door of the bar was flung open.

A women who appeared to be in her early 30’s enter the bar. Her shoulder length hair was unkempt and he stay leaves in it that brought out her green eye. Her face was deeply serious as she spoke of jungle cats but what caught her attention was talk of money. Standing she quickly walked over to the women not wanting to share the money with others.

“I will help you.” Sara told her in the common tongue then listened as she barked out demand for meat and sleeping herbs. Tension radiated of her body as her green orbs darted around the room looking for more volunteers. Sara rested her hand on the shoulder of the women “Is salted fish alright for meat” – I have lots of that she said thinking of yesterday catch that she had preserved as she not been able to sell it fresh to Stu. “Any way you need to relax Hunting like fishing nothing comes into your net when you tense. Come sit and wait for more hunters. There are many bells between now and dawn” She said trying to lead her away from the door as the women

The girl who approached her - sixteen, seventeen, maybe? Merevaika wasn't the greatest judge - seemed youthful in more than just her age. There was an air of uncertainty that clung to her bronzed skin, although in a way that Merevaika couldn't place. She had speed, when she had approached, speed that betrayed an interest in the task ahead. Speed that didn't suggest uncertainty to Merevaika, not in the traditional sense. Perhaps it was deeper, underlying her ever action. Uncertain about her place in this bar, in Syka, in this world.

She was musing far too much about an unimportant detail concerning the girl. It was even based on something physically there - at least, she didn't see it. Her salt encrusted the skin, tanned from long days of Syna's touch, was more than familiar: nearly every other person she spotted in Syka was the same, with some claim to the sea to atribute the salt to. And with the clear blue skies, it didn't take long for the palest to tan. She obviously cared for those long brown locks that fell across her shoulders, putting effort into her hair for some strange reason. Not even by tying it up - the hair hung looser than a million knots she could remember. And despite wearing old clothes, worn and tried over the years, she wasn't openly shying away from Merevaika.

Still, the woman felt like she could sense uncertainty. Even if it wasn't there to meet the eye.

Merevaika straightened before the younger girl, letting limbs hardened and trained by years of survival, limbs decorated with their own faint tracing of scars and less faint scratches from the thorns in the jungle, tense. She shrugged her shoulders, the feathered cloak falling off her back and into her hands in one swift motion.

Her eyes flashed red as she surveyed the rest of the room. No one else appeared interested. This girl would have to do.

The Drykas' muscles tensed even more as a hand was placed on her shoulder. The matching hand moved up, swiftly swiping at the girl's arm. It wasn't a hard blow, but a firm one placed right at the elbow, in a hope to make the whole arm buckle as a warning not to get too close.

After all, the only physical contact with another person, from what she remembered over the past year, were blows, both given and received. She wasn't going to be the most welcoming to anything, as comforting and relaxing as it was intended.

The girl suggested salted fish, for meat. Would that work? Merevaika had to consider it for herself. Almost as a distant memory, she told herself cats liked fish. Not that she knew much about cats. But it was the general consensus that she came to. The salted part bothered her a slight bit. It wasn't natural - would they take it?

In the end she decided it was worth a try, in any case. She didn't have much of her own things to give, and she doubted that the shop - Syka Mercantile, she would never remember that name, with that tricky common word in it - would stock fresh, unsalted meat with a moment's notice. Fish, salted or not, would do the job.

She gave a nod, and a sign, in agreement, despite knowing the latter would be lost for the walahk. Then again, she was walahk now.

Biting away thoughts, she let blood from the inside of her lip fill her mouth to distract herself. The warm metallic taste served as enough distraction to get her to the one this girl provided.

She compared fishing to hunting. Not even any fishing - not spear fishing or something vaguely similar. Fishing with a net. This girl had the audacity to tell her to wait, that nothing "came into the net" if you were tense.

Did she even know what hunting was? Clearly the answer was no. Merevaika didn't even need to ask to judge her experience. It was obvious from her statement.

Hunting was different in so many ways. You didn't just sit still with a net, waiting for fish to swim in. You first had to find your prey, creep into the right position, strike. There was an essence of patience, yes. Patience when you had to sneak up, at just the right speed and angle and stealth. But there were far more exhilarating moments, when the air whipped through your hair and you gave chase.

They had found the prey. Got the waiting over and done with. They were ready for the chase.

This girl couldn't tell her otherwise.

As the girl moved them out, Merevaika shook herself loose. There was something in those actions, too. The speed with which she had moved towards Merevaika and her request, the not so subtle pushing her out despite speaking of waiting.

Maybe, if her head hurt a little less, she'd be able to figure something out about that.

But the magic had drained her too far. She was barely able to keep her eyes open now without feeling the strain on her temple. Deciding it was best to rest, she shot a steady glare at the girl, warning her to keep to her end of the deal.

"Meat - the fish - and herbs if you have them. If they sell them. Wear long clothes. Bring weapon to defend with. And other... rope, water, food for you. All important." Hopefully this time, she'd be with people who knew what to bring on a hunt. She really hoped so, because this would be even more dangerous - and important - than last time. "I see you tomorrow."

With that, she marched off, head pounding too hard to focus on anything more. The trip to her tent was agony, and with the fading light, increasingly hard to manage, and she only made it out due to the embers there, and the dog that gave a bark at Merevaika's approach. Dropping her things in messy, unordered piles around her tent, she didn't bother clean anything up. With shaking fingers, she fumbled with the tie that kept her tent together, and only just managed to rip it loose.

There wasn't a chance for her to do it up again. She collapsed there and then on her bedroll, and let her headache take her on a rough and stormy night.

***

She had woken several times that night. Each time, she thought it was a dream, before her wild grasps at the things around her actually hit, and her consciousness broke forward. The last time she awoke shattered the pattern, this time with Merevaika lying wide awake in the dark. Her heart fluttered for a few moments, thinking she had been disturbed in her sleep by something menacing outside, but finally settled when the only noise she could hear was the sea outside.

Although she didn't know the time, and doubted the starry sky could tell her either, Merevaika knew not to fall asleep again. If she did, it would be mid-morning when she woke. She had things to do that were far more interesting. Struggling up with the rest she had to deal with, she shook herself loose from the bedroll and began to prepare herself for the day. Everything she used for hunting was stuffed into her pack, and her quiver and bow were rested gently on top of that, strapped into place.

The woman stumbled along the beach more, wondering what else she had left outside in her haste to sleep. She almost stepped on her feathered cloak, covered in a thin layer of sand that must have blown over the night before. Quickly, she dug it out, wondering how she could have been so stupid. This wasn't just any cloak, she scolded herself as she moved her fingers over it, teasing the sand out where she could. This cloak was one of a kind. If she lost it or damaged it, she'd never get it back.

The cloak was pulled sharply onto her shoulders. With another, it would be useless, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Especially when the safe option meant taking a cloak that would completely remove your scent.

What was she meant to get? Cages. While making them was strangely an option, she knew that wouldn't do. Even if the flimsy bamboo could hold the half grown cats, she knew there was no chance of her making it in time. Instead, she had to resort to hoping that the Syka Mercantile would stock some.

In the darkness the shop was a little harder to find, but torches marked it out, as did the person who was sorting through their wares this early in the morning.

Her heart sank a little as she realised that she couldn't take the cages without payment, but knew that would have never been an option. Cages weren't exactly small things that could go missing, and having made her goals so clear the night before, she would be the only suspect.

Instead she moved inside and greeted the man working there. "Have you cages?" she asked, finding the common even harder in the early stages of the morning. Through half asleep eyes he nodded and pointed at a dark corner, at the box shapes that stood there.

"We ordered extra in for you specially. What size do you need?"

She ignored him, moving over and judging the sizes. There were two that were about the right size, perhaps smaller, and she shifted them away from the rest, glancing over at the man. "I pay later?"

He nodded, but only reluctantly. He knew Merevaika had a habit of withholding payment for as long as she could, but on the other hand, it wasn't like she could run without paying.

Picking one up, she pulled rope through the bars, tying them in place to create makeshift handles. Slinging it across her back - and struggling to get it there over her pack and all her other things - she took the other in both hands, deciding to leave that to Sara to carry.

It was a long trudge to the meeting place, but Merevaika decided to attribute that to the awkward way she held the cage in her hands, rather than everything on her back. It would be even more painful to make the journey through the jungle if that wasn't comfortable.

The cage settled softly on the sand, followed by the second. They were going to be good. Good enough, hopefully. Because, as she stared at the cages, she realised she hadn't thought anything through.

She had maybe half a bell till dawn. Perhaps that would be enough time to think things through properly.

Then again, she had all of yesterday afternoon to do that, and hadn't gotten far. She doubted any dramatically different ideas would come to her.

The hunter shrugged of her cloak as she nodded accepting Sara offer of help. The women tensed as Sara reached out to place a hand on her shoulder and suddenly the strangers opposing arm moving in a blur of speed swiped at the offer hand. The blow landed on the elbow causing Sara arm to fold up. It wasn’t painful but it had the promise of pain should Sara try and touch her again. Backing off Sara face hardened but she said nothing about the blow and the stranger seemed happy to leave it as a warning.

As Sara offered up some of her salted fish the hunter face turned thoughtful and she was silent for a moment or two. Then she nodded her consent. Listing off what else she would need the hunter left and silently.

Sara look round the room she knew she had to go and get some sleep but she was unsure what specifically she needed for a hunt. A smile crossed her face as she spotted someone across the room. Sitting at an impromptu the craps table was Randal Zor a man she knew because of his gambling habit. But this wasn’t his only interest as Sara remembered him sharing the occasional story of past hunting trips leding Sara to believe that Randal would have everything she would need for an expedition. As she crossed over Randal they both laughed as their eyes met both knowing what Sara wanted. Indicating the seat across from him loo

“I heard what Merevaika said to you. Have you got everything you need.” He ask with a twinkle in his eye. Sara smiled as she sat down. So her hunting companion was called Merevaika then she realised she hadn’t introduce herself cause her to curse silently. The smile face on Randal’s face was hard to ignore though and she soon came back to the business at hand

“No but I know you do and I know you been looking to charter a ship to go back to Riverfall for more medical supplies and I just so happen to have a ship. So do you fancy a wager?” she said picking up the dice from the table “Best of one roll.” Hugo nodded and Sara rattled the dice in her hand and blew on it before she rolled the dice. The dice landed on lucky number 7. Laughing Randal stood up.“You have amazing luck Sara come with me.” He said making his way out of the Restaurant. Randal led her to his house a small cottage on the edge of town. “Just wait here.”

He said on the porch before letting himself into the house. Sara waited patiently trying not to yawn as she enjoyed the cool night air. Just as she did let go of a huge yawn the door opened and Hugo appeared with a backpack and a quiver of arrows and a bow to shoot them. Chuckling at the face she was making Hugo opened up the bag and showed Sara in which pockets everything was in. He even had the sleeping herbs which was a weight off of Sara mind. Sara thanked Randal and then head straight to bed.

Sara slept soundly till the birds of the jungle woke her. It was still light but you could see the beginnings of the sunrise. Pulling out her long sleeve top Sara tried to dress as Merevaika had advised. She attached her sword to her belt and rigged the quiver and bow to her back in a way that they were still accessible under the bag. Lastly she placed a large pouch of salted fish with the sleeping herb in her bag and headed of to find Merevaika.

She emerged soon after Merevaika. Prepared, which was more the woman could say about some others who had come to a hunt. Her clothes were long sleeved and practically for keeping out poison ivy and stings and sharp thorns. She had a pack with her, and a bow, and a quiver full of arrows with it, and a sword attached to her belt, swinging lightly.

More than enough weapons. Because defence was probably going to be pretty important. The only thing she had to watch out for was whether this young woman actually knew how to use weapons. It was one thing bringing them along because she had been told to - and because it was a good idea - and another thing knowing how to defend herself with them. A weapon in an inexperienced person (she knew from herself and a few of the blades she carried) was even worse than no weapon at all.

Especially a bow. Merevaika could easily keep out of range for that blade to hit her, if the girl messed up or something went wrong. But if she tried to shoot at something with a bow, Merevaika would have to be a good enough distance away just in case she missed.

She was tempted to ask, then realised she didn't care that much. And if she got the wrong answer, it would only annoy her even more. It was better to stay ignorant. But also careful, just in case.

The Drykas nodded towards the cages on the ground. More particularly, the one closer to this girl, gesturing for her to pick it up. Her tongue was heavy and dry, and lacking the words necessary, and her mind didn't want to think for her, still throbbing from the day before. She didn't need words. Her demonstration - how she picked it up using the makeshift handles she had tied from rope, and slung it across her shoulder like a large, uncomfortable, awkward pack.

It would have to do.

Then she made a simple symbol to follow. Even if she didn't know Pavi, it wasn't a hard one to guess.

Retracing her steps to where she had emerged from the jungle (or at the very least, there about), Merevaika readied herself for the pathfinding. After all that work last time, her head had been pounding, and she wasn't certain that it was a good idea to push herself. Especially not so soon.

But that meant taking time off, leaving the cats to disappear into the jungle, and probably never find them again. After all, the paths didn't last forever, and she didn't want to spend days tracking them in the jungle. Even now, the time searching would be long enough. And it was only getting longer.

Gesturing towards where she had crashed through, her hand moved along the greenery, pointing at notable places. There, where the branches near her feet had clear, distinct breaks, where she must have trod on them. And to the side, the cleanly cut ivy she had hacked through with a machete, even the remains of it that could be seen through the leaves.

She had to admit, the signs were a lot easier to see what you knew what you were looking for.

"Me, you see? I walk here - and we walk now. Follow signs, understand?" she didn't know why she was explaining, showing her this, but maybe she could teach her something. In the long run - and it was only know she had even started thinking about the long run - it would be helpful to have people in Syka who knew things, so it wasn't just her that they relied on.

Also, if she explained, then this girl would think she knew how Merevaika did it. Meanwhile, the pathfinder could use her magic to follow the trails she saw without her partner suspecting a thing.

It would take her a moment to find them, though.

Staring at the broken leaves, perhaps as if she was trying to figure out which direction it was that she was heading, she instead focused more inwards, trying to find the magic inside her. With steadying breaths to keep her focus on that rather on anything else, she slowly let it trickle, then rush, to her eyes, almost unable to hold back the flow as she longed to see the paths.

There they were. Despite the time that had passed, her path was still strong, that mix of green and red which seemed to be masked in the surroundings. She didn't want to guess at what it was going to look like further down, when the path got older, more patchier - harder to follow.

How had she managed to make it to Syka? By actually starting, that was how.

Merevaika cursed her reluctance to actually get going, and forced herself to step forward, almost passing through the path she had laid out the night before. "Follow, slow and careful," she ordered, exaggerating her movements so the girl could copy. She kept her eyes mostly trained on the path, but still looked around, watching for danger. Each step was placed carefully, rather than walking normally, and she twisted around every branch, not wanting to get snagged by a thorn.

It was a long walk. Slow, too, as she tried to show her companion how to walk through a jungle carefully. The better she got at it now, the easier it would be to approach the jaguars.

The path blinked before her eyes, and she realised that she had lost her focus, and it went patchy here, too. Her heart rose up in a panic. What did she do? She struggled with the sight for a few ticks, but nothing seemed to be appearing - not her path, anyway. How was she going to find the jaguars now?

Turning to the girl beside her, she tried to throw a cool smile at her, trying to come up with an excuse for the sudden stop. It came quickly, and she hoped it would be a good enough reason. "You try," she said with a small smile, gesturing to the jungle around, "Follow my path."

Now, she had to find it herself. Because she didn't trust her to actually help her out.

Only, Merevaika was struggling to find anything without making it too obvious. Was that a clump of leaves, or something that had actually been trod on? Had that branch been pulled back by her, or had it just grown like that?

Why was it so hard to track when she couldn't see the paths?

The woman was tempted to just wander around looking for where the path sprang back up. But that would be far too obvious for what she was trying to hide. And besides, that might not even work, and only get them more lost.

Merevaika stood in the dawn light where the beach and jungle met. Dressed the same as the previous night her cape fluttered in the wind. There were two cages at her feet and as Sara approached she indicated the one closer to Sara as Merevakia picked up the second holding it by strong rope handles which allowed her to attach the cage to her back. This was difficult for Sara as she already had a pack and quiver on her back but she managed this after rearranging her gear.

Just as Sara got here gear arranged Merevaika made a distinctive gesture with her hand ending up pointing at jungle. Sara had not seen this gesture before and knowing that the women spoke common and she was about to ask what the gesture meant but Merevaika had started moving for the jungle. Sara stood there for a moment then guessed the hand gesture had been a sign to move out and she quickly followed after.

Slowly as they made their way through the jungle the greenery of the landscape engulfed them. Looking around nervously Sara felt she could easily get lost. This led her to wonder how Merevaika could navigate. She watched the women carefully as she hacked a trail through the jungle with her machete sometime pointing at broken braches or Ivy that had been cut away from the tree it had been clinging too. Sara listened to the women explanation in broken common and translated it as this; the breaks in the trees were from yesterday when she been making here way back to Syka. The way Merevaika navigated was by watching for these tell-tale signs.

A short way on Merevaika slowed and beginning to sidle through the underbrush taking great care as to where she placed her feet. As Merevaika instructed Sara to do move the same way avoiding saplings branches. Any thorns simple caught on her long sleeves and pants which Sara pulled away from not having the same graceful tracking form that Merevaika showed with each step.

Suddenly Merevaika invited her to go first Sara looked up from her feet and around at the vast selection of flora and fauna that surrounded them. Without the sight of the sea her head began to spin. Reaching for her water pouch she found it empty. Never having been so far from water before her heart began to speed up and her breathing became shallow.

Ingnorate to the dangers of the jungle Sara closed her eyes not wanting to lose control of her faculties she breathed in deeply though her nose and out through her lungs trying to sense water but they were kilometres from the settlement and it beach. But like All svefra she knew she had been marked by Laviku and she was connected to the oceans. As she concentrated the vibrant blue and green waves of her Oceanus mark seemed to be moving on her wrist. As the mark twisted and turned Sara moved the direction she was facing until she could suddenly sense an outlet of water in the direction she was now facing.

Opening her eyes she pointed in the direction and showed Merevaika her empty water pouch

“Water this way.”

Moving off she stayed crouched eyes focused on the ground. There were no obvious sign that humans having travelled the path she was now forging and she paid care to leave as little of a trail not wanting any predators to pick it up. Soon the sound of rushing water could be heard with ease but she stopped dead in her tracks.

Ahead lay an area of crushed undergrowth with blood smeared over the leaves. A recent kill site but for what manner of beast Sara did not know so she wait at a distance for Merevaika to catch up.